BOYNTON VOTE KILLS PLAN FOR WATER PARK

BOYNTON BEACH -- The dream of transforming Intracoastal Park, the long-delayed waterfront park on Federal Highway, into a countywide water-recreation destination with a waterway playground, a marina and upscale apartments, died Tuesday because of one vote.

The City Commission failed Tuesday to get the 4-1 super-majority vote it needed to buy an adjacent property, where the city could have built docks for public access to the waterway. Docks can't be built in Intracoastal Park because of environmental restrictions.

The 3.5- acre property of Easton's Restaurant, to be combined with Intracoastal Park, would have cost $3.4 million.

"I am deeply disappointed," said Mayor Jerry Broening. "I think we lost an opportunity we will never recoup. I'm convinced the property will sell at prices greater than $3.4 million in the next three weeks."

The 3-2 vote came as a surprise.

Since November, when commissioners gave the go-ahead to negotiate for the Easton's property, staff members including City Manager Kurt Bressner worked feverishly to make the deal and bring the price down from $3.6 million.

But Tuesday, Commissioners Mike Ferguson and Charlie Fisher voted no, saying the city could buy the property in the future.

Fisher said $3.4 million was too much, and that the money would be better invested in downtown's redevelopment.

"It's more than the appraised value," said Fisher, adding there was no point in buying the land without a firm design for it. "I don't see the logic of that in dollars and cents."

City appraisals valued the property at about $3.1 million.

Intracoastal Park has been waiting to be developed for 11 years. The city bought it in 1988, got a county grant to build it, then lost the money when it missed the construction deadline. After renegotiating with the county, Boynton Beach was given a $1.9 million grant in October to build the park.

But city officials wanted to transform it both into a county destination and a self-paying venture and decided to buy Easton's.

Commissioners favoring the purchase said buying the property would give the city control over what is built on Federal Highway.

"Here's a chance to make something happen," said Commissioner Bruce Black. "To just say no and look back in a few years and say we had a chance to make this happen but didn't because of a few hundred thousand dollars ... I urged the commissioners to have the vision to look forward."

His plea fell on deaf ears.

"Being a visionary, you can go bankrupt," Fisher said.

Nevertheless, the construction of Intracoastal Park will go forward.

Officials said the plans will be scaled down. The park will have a lake, picnic areas, paddleboats, exercise stations, outdoor dining spots but no water sports and surely no marina. A consultant will soon be hired to draft the plans, and construction could begin in a year.

Merle Augustin can be reached at maugustin@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6522.